This is the fourth case study I have written on inational identity efforts. The first was India’s UIDAI, which I covered in Payments and Identity, UPI continues to lead the world. The second was Norway, in BankID Norway, Evolution and Success, last month i outlined eIDAS, Top 3 Problems. Belgium’s itsme is a fantastic collaboration of banks and mobile operators in a commercial model, it may be the cleanest available proof of my rule of thumb on identity success (see Part 1 – Identity Models, Government and Governance Structures).

Summary of today’s thesis: European digital identity is succeeding at the country level, wherever commercial entities are allowed to own the governance and the economics, and it is failing at the EU and regulatory level, where neither is defined (or mandates set). Belgium is NOT a counterexample to Europe’s identity problem. In my view, Belgium represents an example model for the answer Europe is looking for.